English times are considered the most complex topic, because in Russian we have only 3 tenses, and in English there are 12.
When studying them, everyone has many questions.
- What time should I use?
- Would it be considered a mistake to use one tense instead of another?
- Why is it necessary to use this time and not another?
This confusion occurs because we learn the rules of grammar but do not fully understand them.
However, English tenses are not as difficult as they seem.
Their use depends on what idea you want to convey to your interlocutor. To do this correctly, you need to understand the logic and usage of English tenses.
I warn you right away that in this article I will not explain to you the grammatical formation of sentences. In it I will give precisely an understanding of the times.
In the article we will look at the cases of using 12 tenses and compare them with each other, as a result of which you will understand how they differ and when to use which tense.
Let's get started.
What tenses are there in English?
IN English, just like in Russian, there are 3 blocks of tenses familiar to us.
1. Present (present) - denotes an action that occurs in the present tense.
2. Past - denotes an action that occurs in the past tense (once upon a time).
3. Future - denotes an action that will occur in the future tense.
However, the English times do not end there. Each of these groups of times is divided into:
1. Simple- simple.
2. Continuous- long-term.
3. Perfect- completed.
4. Perfect Continuous- long-term completed.
The result is 12 times.
It is the use of these 4 groups that baffles English language learners. After all, in the Russian language there is no such division.
How do you know what time to use?
To use English tenses correctly, you need 3 things.
- Understand the logic of English tenses
That is, to know what time is intended for what and when it is used. - Be able to construct sentences according to the rules
That is, not only to know, but to be able to speak these sentences. - Understand exactly what idea you want to convey to your interlocutor
That is, be able to choose the right time depending on the meaning you put into your words.
To understand English tenses, let's look at each group in detail.
Once again, I will not explain the grammatical formation of sentences. And I’ll explain to you the logic by which we determine which group’s time should be used.
We'll start with the easiest group - Simple.
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Simple group tenses in English
Simple is translated as “simple”.
We use this tense when we talk about facts that:
- happen in the present tense
- happened in the past
- will happen in the future.
For example
I drive a car.
I drive a car.
We say that a person knows how to drive a car and this is a fact.
Let's look at another example.
She bought a dress.
She bought a dress.
We are talking about the fact that sometime in the past (yesterday, last week or last year) she bought herself a dress.
Remember: when you talk about some action as a fact, then use the Simple group.
You can study all the times of this group in detail here:
Now let's compare Simple with another group of tenses - Continuous.
Continuous tenses in English
Continuous is translated as “long, continuous.”
When we use this tense, we talk about action as a process that:
- happening at the moment
- happened in the past at a certain moment,
- will happen in the future at a certain moment.
For example
I am driving a car.
I'm driving.
Unlike the Simple group, here we do not mean a fact, but talk about a process.
Let's see the difference between fact and process.
Fact:“I know how to drive a car, I have a license.”
Process:“I got behind the wheel some time ago and now I’m driving the car, that is, I’m in the process of driving.”
Let's look at another example.
I will be flying to Moscow tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will fly to Moscow.
We are talking about the fact that tomorrow you will board a plane and for some time you will be in the process of flying.
That is, for example, you need to get in touch with a client. You tell him that you will not be able to talk to him at this time, as you will be in the middle of a flight.
Remember: when you want to emphasize the duration of an action, that is, that the action is a process, use the Continuous tenses.
You can read in detail about each time of this group here:
Now let's move on to the Perfect group.
Perfect tenses in English
Perfect is translated as “completed/perfect.”
We use this tense when we focus on the result of an action, which:
- we have received by now,
- we got to a certain point in the past,
- we will receive by a certain point in the future.
Note that even in the present tense this tense is translated into Russian as the past. However, despite this, you say that the result of this action is important in the present moment.
For example
I have fixed my car.
I fixed the car.
We focus on the result that we currently have - a working machine. For example, you say that you fixed your car, now it works, and you can go to your friends’ country house.
Let's compare this group with others.
Let's talk about a fact (Simple):
I cooked dinner.
I was preparing dinner.
For example, you tell your friend about the fact that you prepared a delicious dinner yesterday.
I was cooking dinner.
I was preparing dinner.
You say you were in the process of cooking. For example, they didn’t answer the phone because they were cooking (we were in the process) and didn’t hear the call.
Let's talk about the result (Perfect):
I have cooked dinner.
I cooked dinner.
You currently have the result of this action - a ready-made dinner. For example, you call the whole family for lunch because dinner is ready.
Remember: when you want to focus on the result of an action, use the Perfect group.
Read more about all the times of the Perfect group in these articles:
Now let's move on to the last group, Perfect Continuous.
Perfect Continuous tenses in English
Perfect Continuous is translated as “complete continuous”. As you noticed from the name, this group of tenses includes characteristics of 2 groups at once.
We use it when we talk about a long-term action (process) and obtaining a result.
That is, we emphasize that the action began some time ago, lasted (was in process) for a certain time and at the moment:
1. We received the result of this action
For example: “He repaired the car for 2 hours” (the action lasted 2 hours, and at the moment he has a result - a working car).
2. The action is still going on
For example: “He has been fixing the car for 2 hours” (he started fixing the car 2 hours ago, was in the process of fixing it, and is still fixing it now).
We can say that the action began some time ago, lasted and:
- ended/continues in the present,
- ended/continued until a certain point in the past,
- will end/will continue until a certain point in the future.
For example
I have been cooking this dinner for 2 hours.
I cooked dinner for 2 hours.
That is, you started cooking 2 hours ago and by now you have the result of your action - a ready-made dinner.
Let's compare this time with others similar to it.
Let's talk about the process (Continuous):
I am painting a picture.
I'm painting a picture.
We say that we are currently in the process of drawing. It doesn’t matter to us how much time it has already taken, it is important to us that you are currently involved in this process.
We talk about the result (Perfect)
I have painted a picture.
I painted a picture.
We say that at the moment we have a result - a completed picture.
We talk about the result and the process (Perfect Continuous)
1. I have been painting a picture for an hour.
I painted the picture for an hour.
We say that at the moment we have a result - a completed picture. You also point out that you spent an hour in the drawing process to get this result.
2. I have been painting a picture for an hour.
I paint a picture for one hour.
We say that we are now in the process of drawing, while we focus on the fact that we have been busy with this process for an hour. Unlike Continuous times, where we care only about what is happening at a certain (given) moment, and not how long we have been doing it.
Remember: if you want to emphasize not only the result obtained, but also its duration (how long it took you to get it), then use the Perfect Continuous.
General table comparing tenses of the groups Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous
Let's look again at what each group of tenses is responsible for. Look at the table.
| Time | Example | Accent |
| Simple | I did my homework. I was doing my homework. |
We're talking about facts. For example, you once studied at university and did your homework. This is a fact. |
| Continuous | I was doing my homework. I was doing my homework. |
We talk about the process, emphasizing the duration of the action. For example, you didn’t clean your room because you were busy doing your homework. |
| Perfect | I have done my homework. I did my homework. |
We talk about the result. For example, you came to class with your homework ready. |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been doing my homework for 2 hours. I did my homework for 2 hours. |
We emphasize not only the result, but also the duration of the action before receiving it. For example, you complain to a friend that Homework too complicated. You spent 2 hours on it and:
|
Bottom line
Use English tenses depending on the meaning you want to convey to your interlocutor. The most important thing is to understand what the emphasis is on in each tense.
1. We talk about action as a fact - Simple.
2. We talk about action as a process - Continuous.
3. We talk about action, focusing on the result - Perfect.
4. We talk about the action, emphasizing that it took a certain time before obtaining the result - Perfect Continuous.
I hope that now you understand the logic of English times, and you will be able to convey the correct meaning to your interlocutor.
Oh, the times! Oh, morals! Tenses in the English language are considered to be the most difficult section of grammar. But this is one of the most common misconceptions. Along with the fact that the majority distinguishes a dozen tenses in English, and three in Russian. So: don’t trust anyone :) In the English language, experts will highlight more than 12 tenses (take at least Future-in-the-Past for warming up). And in Russian, in theory, there are also more than three. Need proof? Yes please.
Times in the Great and Mighty
Only a first grader thinks that we have past, present and future tense. But at the same time, everyone will feel the difference in these proposals:
I was walking home through the park yesterday.
I walked home through the park yesterday
Immediately a quick question: what is the tense in the sentences? Yeah, past. What verb did “went” come from? Well, yes, from the verb “to go.”
The English language also has tricky irregular verbs, which in the past tense take on such a form that you can try to guess the original one. So the myths that camouflage is practiced only in the English language can already be safely considered debunked.
Let's go back to "went" and "went". Can we smell the difference? In the first case, we are talking about some long time: I walked to myself and walked through the park, without touching anyone. And in the second - about what has already happened. The questions answered by “went” and “went” are also different: “what did you do?” and “what did you do?” Such forms of verb tenses in Russian are usually called imperfect/non-perfect form (what to do) and perfect/perfect (what to do).
And that's not all. For example, when we want to emphasize the duration of an action, we become more sophisticated and use synonyms of verbs that are very close in meaning. For example:
Yesterday I walked around the park in a great mood.
Now you can imagine how difficult it is for a foreigner when he wants to convey a long action using the verb “go”. Surely he will come up with something like “Yesterday I walked... mmm... walked... walked... through the park in a great mood.” And try to explain to him that to convey a long-term action, it is better to take the verb “to walk” and put it in the past tense in the non-perfect form.
Whose tense system is easier?
This is ours:
| Imperfect form (Indefinite) |
Perfect form ( Perfect) | ||
| long-term | regular | ||
| Present | I'm playing | — | — |
| Past (Past) | played | played | played |
| Future (Future) | I'll play | I'll play | I'll play |
Moreover, in order to denote the present continuous or past imperfect tense, we will have to explain this further. Compare:
I play the guitar (that is, in principle I know how to play this instrument).
And
I'm currently playing the guitar (that is, I'm sitting and playing right now, I have nothing else to do).
Times in English
While we are getting more sophisticated with perfect/non-perfect forms of the verb, and also practicing finding synonyms, the English have created a completely logical and understandable system of tenses. Each verb easily forms 12 main groups. Let’s take the same “walk” (walk) and use it by default with the pronoun I (I).
Table of tenses in English with examples
| Simple | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect Continuous | |
| Present | I walk I walk (in general, in principle) |
I am walking I'm walking/walking (right now) |
I have walked I went (already) |
I have been walking I walked (did it and completed it by now) |
| Past | I walked I went (in general, in principle) |
I was walking I was walking/walking (a while ago) |
I had walked I was walking (the action had already ended at a certain point in the past) |
I had been walking I have walked (done this and completed it by a certain point in the past) |
| Future | I will walk I will walk (in general, in principle) |
I will be walking I will walk/walk (for a while) |
I will have walked I'm like (the action will end at a certain point in the future) |
I will have been walking I will walk (and complete it by some point in the future) |
Thus, when reading a sentence in English, one can easily understand what the person means. While in our country the use of explanatory words is mandatory. While we need to use explanatory words for this. For example, to convey the Future Perfect tense, we will add “I’ll finish” to the main semantic verb: “I’ll finish doing my homework by 5 pm.” These are the simple rules of English tenses that, thanks to exercises, are quickly memorized.
And whose tense system is ultimately easier?
It is important to be able to correctly use tense constructions in the English language. Therefore, I suggest you remember 16 tenses of English using tables and pictures.
Naturally, let's start small, namely with the polyglot scheme of Dmitry Petrov, which I personally tested.
A simple but quite effective table of the three Simple tenses. The essence of the method is that you know it perfectly. You need to bring your knowledge to automation.
For example, to the question:
You should immediately know what time to use to answer. Remember how to correctly formulate a question or negative in each tense. Practice it every day until your knowledge becomes automatic.
Use of tenses in English
After you have thoroughly mastered the previous table by Dmitry Petrov, you can move on to the table with 16 English tenses.
And now, I propose to move on to clear examples use of 12 English tenses. With the help of this wonderful image of a worm's dreams and everyday life:
A simple table of English tenses:
Time table. Active voice
In this table you can remember the time circumstances (hints) that suggest which tense should be used:
Time markers in English
Although in Russian we say “ V last month", " on next week", " V next year", in English, prepositions are not used before the words "next" and "last":
- She is coming next Tuesday. - She's coming next/future Tuesday.
(incorrect: “… on next Tuesday”). - We met last June. - We met last June.
(incorrect: “... in last June”).
**The expression “the other day” is translated into English differently for the past and future tense: “the other day” and “one of these days” - they cannot be swapped and one cannot be used instead of the other.
*Continuous tenses in the past and future tenses can also indicate simultaneous actions. At the same time, it is not necessary that they all be long, one is enough. Therefore, in Past Continuous and Future Continuous you can often see the conjunctions “when” (when) and “while” (while).
- He will be reading while the children will be swimming. - He will read while the children are swimming.
- I will be working when you come. - I'll be working when you come.
- I was watching TV while he was looking through the newspapers. - I was watching TV while he was looking through the newspapers.
- He was reading a book when I entered the room. - He was reading a book when I entered the room.
- While/When my mother was talking on the phone, I was having dinner. - While/When my mother was talking on the phone, I was having lunch.
- When my mother was talking on the phone, I switched the TV on. - When my mother was talking on the phone, I turned on the TV.
All English Tenses:
- How to learn Simple/Indefinite Tense? Talk about yourself, about what you are always used to doing, about how you usually behave or what you prefer. Chat with a native speaker or teacher about your habits and traditions in your family.
- How to learn Continuous / Progressive Tense? Talk about what you are still doing at a particular moment. Constantly, when doing any work, say what you are doing at a particular moment in English.
- How to learn Perfect Tense? Talk about what you have finished doing at a certain point. Tell the teacher or any other interlocutor about your achievements and achievements, about what you managed to do. Try to prepare for an interview in English, in which you can tell about your victories and achievements.
- How to learn Perfect Continuous Tense? Tell us about a certain period in your life, about what you did for some time, what you devoted your life to until a certain point, what you were passionate about. Imagine that you are being interviewed - try to answer different questions.
Today we are talking about such an important section of English grammar as verb tenses. To build an English dialogue, to form your own speech, you need to know as much as possible English verbs, as well as verb tenses. A verb is an action, so it is the most commonly used part of speech in any language. How to use the time table in practice?
The catch is that there are only three verb tenses in Russian. There are many more of them in English. But in Russian there are types - perfect and imperfect, which indicate the completeness and incompleteness of the action. All these nuances are reflected in English in individual verb tenses.
Let’s create a table of English tenses together and see what goes where and what’s what.
In order to get a table of the formation and use of verb tenses, we need to distribute the tenses into sections - Indefinite, Perfect, Continuous, etc. Let's try to create such a table together and see what comes of it. Let's not take any irregular verb, so as not to complicate the task. Let's make our table using the example of the verb work - to work.
| Tense | Affirmative Form | Interrogative Form | Negative Form | Examples |
| Present Simple | I/you/we/they work He/she work s | Do I/you/we/they work? Does he/she work? | I/you/we/they don’t work He/she doesn't work | Every day we work in the garden. |
| Present Continuous | I am working You/we/they are working He/she is working | Am I working? Are you/we/they working? Is he/she working? | I am not working You/we/they aren't working He/she isn't working | Andy is working now. |
| Present Perfect | I /you/we/they have worked He/she has worked | Have I/you/we/they worked? Has he/she worked? | I/you/we/they haven’t worked He/she hasn’t worked | I have just worked with my pupils. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | I/you/we/they have been working He/she has been working | Have I/you/we/they been working? Has he/she been working? | I/you/we/they haven’t been working He/she hasn’t been working | We have been working for three hours already. |
| Past Simple | I/you/he/she/we/they worked | Did I/you/he/she/we/they work? | I/you/he/she/we/they didn’t work | We worked in the garden yesterday. |
| Past Continuous | I/he/she was working We/you/they were working | Was I/he/she working? Were we/you/they working? | I/he/she wasn’t working We/you/they weren't working | Tom was working in the orchard when you called. |
| Past Perfect | I/you/he/she/we/they had worked | Had I/you/he/she/we/they worked? | I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t worked | She said that she had worked with John in the studio. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | I/you/he/she/we/they had been working | Had I/you/he/she/we/they been working? | I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t worked | She had been working for an hour when I came. |
| Future Simple | I/you/he/she/we/they will work | Will I/you/he/she/we/they work? | I/you/he/she/we/they won’t work | They will work tomorrow. |
| Future in the Past | I/you/he/she/we/they would work | Would I/you/he/she/we/they work? | I/you/he/she/we/they wouldn’t work | She said that she would work the next day. |
| Future Perfect | I/you/he/she/we/they will have worked | Will I/you/he/she/we/they have worked? | I/you/he/she/we/they won’t have worked | I will have worked with the article by noon. |
| Future Continuous | I/you/he/she/we/they will be working | Will I/you/he/she/we/they be working? | I/you/he/she/we/they won’t be working | This time next Sunday we will be working with the article. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | I/you/he/she/we/they will have been working | Will I/you/he/she/we/they have been working? | I/you/he/she/we/they won’t have been working | I will have been working at the article for a month when Tom joins me. |
Here is a table with examples of the use of verbs. You can download it on our website, and it will always help you in learning and memorizing verb tenses.
What else you need to know about verb tenses
Let's remember what adverbs are used with some tenses. This is important to know because if you know the correct adverb, you will always be able to use the correct verb. We bring to your attention the main adverbs for the main verb tenses.
So, Present Simple:
- Today - today
- Every day/night/morning/week/year - every day/night/morning/week/year
- Always - always
- Seldom - rare
- Often - often
- Usually - usually
Adverbs used in the Present Continuous:
- Now - now
- All day - all day
- At the moment - at the moment
Present Perfect and its adverbs:
- Already - already
- Ever - ever
- Never - never
- Yet - yet
- Since - with; since
- Till - until
- Until - until
- Just - just now, already
- Yesterday - yesterday
- That day - on that day
- The day before yesterday - the day before yesterday
- Then - then
- Two days ago - two days ago (three, four days, etc.)
- Tomorrow - tomorrow
- The next day/night/week/year - the next day/night/week/year
- The day after tomorrow - the day after tomorrow
How to easily learn the table of times?
We remind you that you can download the times table on our website. We advise you to learn it so that you can easily and quickly cope with the exercises, as well as constructing sentences and dialogues in English.
Hello guys! Many will agree that the topic of this article evokes fear. Tenses in English - This combination of words can scare even an experienced English student, let alone a beginner.
Just about English times
- It is worth understanding that in English there are 3 pillars on which all grammar rests - “ to be», « to have" And " to do».
- Each of these whales can swim in three times: Present,Past And Future.
- In turn, Present, Past and Future will flow into the seas Simple,Continuous, Perfect And Perfect Continuous.
- In the meantime, whales (or whales) swim in these seas, they have babies, or rather, new forms are formed.
Are you confused? Let's take a closer look.
How to learn all tenses in English
You just need to sort everything out and systematize your learning until it becomes automatic. You will know how much you have studied and how much is still to come, then the study of times will not seem like something limitless and endless.
- Present Simple used to express a common, regularly repeated action.
- Past Simple used to express an action that happened in the past.
- Future Simple used to express an action that will happen in the future.
- Present Continuous used to express an action taking place at the moment.
- Past Continuous used to express an action that occurred at a certain point in time in the past.
- Future Continuous used to express an action that will occur at a certain point in time in the future.
- Present Perfect used to express a completed (or still ongoing) action, the result of which is associated with the present.
- Past Perfect used to express an action that ended earlier than another action or a specific moment in the past.
- Future Perfect used to express an action that will be completed by a specific point in time in the future.
Important! There is also the time Future in the Past, which we talked about in the corresponding article.
- Present Perfect Continuous used to express an action that began in the past and continues in the present, or the duration of the action is important.
- Past Perfect Continuous used to express an action that began at a certain point in the past and continued for some time before the beginning of another action.
- Future Perfect Continuous used to express an action that, having begun at a certain moment, will still continue at some point in time in the future.
How not to be afraid of tenses in English?
- Be prepared for the fact that you should have a good feel for the difference between times, from a logical point of view. The tenses in English and Russian are not 100% similar, so it is not always possible to draw a parallel.
- After getting acquainted with each new tense, you must practice it well by completing various grammatical exercises in order to remember the construction and, of course, the situation where we use this tense.
- It is important to learn irregular verbs. For this purpose, there are now special songs that consist of all irregular verbs. Give it a try. This is a very effective method for learning irregular verbs. Especially for music lovers.
- Study English tenses systematically, without trying to learn everything in one day. As soon as you begin to navigate one time, you can move on to the next. Then be sure to practice the mixed exercises where the tasks will be collected in order to check if you are not confused about these tenses.
- It is advisable to practice English every day for 15 minutes. In this case, the new store of knowledge will be stored in your memory for a long time and you will use it automatically.
- If you are studying English tenses on your own, look for useful videos on the Internet. On our website you will find many useful grammar video lessons. This is much more interesting and reliable than looking for rules anywhere on the Internet.
- Don't overwork yourself! It's important to give yourself rest. If you turn English into daily hard labor, it will not benefit you, but will only discourage you from learning it.
- When learning tenses in English, pay attention to whether your memory is visual or auditory. Based on this, you can understand which tasks are best to give preference to achieve the most effective result.
- Don't try to learn all tenses in English at once. To start, learn 5-6 basic tenses. This will be quite enough to communicate in English competently.
- As a result, it is important to be able to use these tenses in a conversation. This is quite difficult to do on your own. Suppose you can find rules, exercises and answers to them on your own, but understanding whether you use English tenses in your speech is not an easy task.
Conclusion
With English tenses there are usually 3 scenarios:
- The student decides that he doesn’t need tenses in English because he just wants to improve his conversational skills.
- The student finds a popular grammar textbook and slowly studies each tense on his own.
- The student turns to the teacher and trusts him on his path to mastery at times in full.
Which one do you choose?
Definitely the second and third! It is impossible to communicate in a language like a native speaker without knowing the tenses. Definitely, if you want to know English, tenses are very important. So which side should you approach them from?
The EnglishDom online school employs many experienced teachers who have already proven to many students that learning tenses is not a disaster.
Many students come to a free introductory lesson with the request “just not grammar,” and after a few lessons with the teacher, they take grammar tests and other interactive tasks with great pleasure. So don't be afraid! U can do it! Times are waiting for you :)
Big and friendly EnglishDom family